The St. Johns herald., 1887-09-15

lie domain of the indemnity lands
 of the Atlantic & Pacific Railroad
 reviews with great ability the sub-
 ject of railroad grants. In closing
 quite a lengthy report he says;
 The proposal of the company to
 furnish enough money to cover the
 whole expense of a survey and let
 it stand as a deposit for future ad- justment-in other words, to lend the Commissioner of the General Land Office a sum of money, which the law did not authorize him to
 borrow, in order to do that which the law making power had omitted 10 do, but which the company want ed done-was very properly declin- ed (see 9 C.L. O., 99), and his ac
 tion was approved by this depart
 ment.
 The matter of appropriating money to make public surveys is one entirely within the province of Congress, and if, on a failure to
 make what the Commissioner might think was an adequate appropria- tion, that officer should borrow a
 sum of money in order to do that
 which he thought ought to be done, he would not only be acting outside the law. but in actual violation of its express provisions.
 When this grant was made to the Atlantic & Pacific Railroad Com pany it is true the act directed the survey of the granted limits in the Territories, and ten miles beyond both granted and indemnity limits in the States, but the grantees we'll knew that such surveys could only be commenced and completed when a proper appropriation was made by Congress, and subject to the conve- nience of Congress and the contin- gency of that appropriation the grant was accepted. The right to or der such surveys is entirely beyond the power of the Executive, who can only administer the laws as en- acted, and who can only expend, as directed, such money as has been duly appropriated, having no au- thority to draw such money from any other source. The attention of Congress has been repeatedly called to the subject of these surveys, but in the exercisee ofits wisdom it has not thought proper to make such appropriations as were suggested, and the matter remains exactly where it was when the grant was made.
 This department charged with the administration of the land laws, ac- ted with the utmost, if not ques- tionable, liberality when it with drew the land in the indemnity belt "a liberality which Congress de- clined to exibit. This liberality was further shown by the fact that the indemnity lands were withdrawn long before a mile of road was built, and continued long after the time prescribed by law for it's construc- tion had expired; and more than liberality is shown, in that, during the period of said withdrawals, the company IS allowed to present and have approved by the local officers its list of selections without giving public notice of any kind; while the prc-emtion or homestead settler, though his residence upon and cul- tivation of his land have been open and notorious for years, is com pel1ed to give thirty days notice by advertisement and posting before he is allowed to show by proof tight to his home, so that any one interested may appear and protest on the day named against said proof. or contest his right. And the department is not now to be charged with injustice or liberality because it does not propose to keep in perpetual reservation a territory of such vast extent as was with drawn for the benefit of this road.